If you have any spare change in your PayPal account, this actually looks like a worthy cause. I've seen Dr. Mani's name around various Internet hotspots for years, didn't realize he was a heart surgeon.

A Message From My Heart...>From Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian, for Jill Whalen

Reader's Digest magazine influenced my life - twice.

In 1977, with a story about a living God. A heart surgeonnamed Denton A.Cooley. He was glamorous, a pioneer and entrepreneur. Operated on princes, presidents and primeministers. In all, over 75,000 operations. Founded the world-famous Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

I wanted to be like him.

A 1989 issue I read during my medical internship featureda neurosurgeon named Tom Peters. One sentence in hisinterview remains burned into my mind:

"I don't accept children dying."

This time, I didn't just *want* to be like him.

I LIVED LIKE HIM.

I too won't accept a child dying. I made myself a promise.

Anything... ANYTHING that is within my power to prevent ithappening, I will do.

= = = = =

1989 - It was the year I grew up.

When I realized - and accepted - that life is unfair.

1989 was when a 22-year old held my hand as his life ebbed away

1989 was when I lost a loved 8-year old niece to an untreatablekidney ailment

1989 was when I watched helplessly as a teenager succumbed toa terrible severe viral infection.

Apart from the challenge, the technical, intellectual andemotional puzzles the speciality poses its practitioners.

The latter, sadly, creates robots. Unemotional automatonsthat get caught up in their craft, forgetting or ignoringthe human element. The stress, pain, trauma, helplessnessassociated with the problem.

The COST.

Heart birth defects have a unique social dimension. Youngfamilies, just starting out on their careers and settlingdown, with little if any financial cushion, suddenly areconfronted with a daunting choice...